Should employers adopt specific measures in the workplace to protect confidential information?

by Jesús Tejado · 29 June, 2017

In today’s competitive business environment, companies spend a great deal of time and money on obtaining developing and applying knowledge that may give them an edge over other competitors in a particular sector.

The widespread use of new technologies, the globalization of the economy, the growth in outsourcing and high turnover of personnel in the current employment market, are factors that have led innovative companies to be increasingly susceptible to information theft—commercial and strategic plans, information about clients and suppliers, substantial technological innovation, etc.—by disloyal employees, or at times merely due to their negligence.

Although employees are obliged to keep secret and confidential, sensitive information that they may access while providing their services—in accordance with the principles of good faith and due care that should preside over the employment relationship—in practice, defining the scope of this obligation is complex. This is particularly true if the formulas used by employers to safeguard the information are quite general, or lack the necessary precision for the intended purpose—to avoid the use of confidential information by an employee for his/her own benefit or that of third parties.

It is therefore essential for employers to adopt protective measures that clarify and specify the scope and enforceability of this duty, especially in those cases in which employees, because of the department they are in and/or the duties they perform, have access to strategic information for the company’s activity and business.